Rajesh, Pancham and Kishore were a lethal combination: Anupam Kher

"I think Rajesh Khanna's films were not just his films but they also included R.D. Burman and Kishore Kumar. So it was a very lethal combination," the 57-year-old said on Thursday at the launch of author Komal Mehta's book Nick of Time.

Anupam Kher

The songs Roop tera mastana and Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana saw the trio come together for the first time. R.D. had to finish the film's sound track after his father, legendary composer S.D. Burman, fell ill.

"Right from 'Aradhana', 'Haathi Mere Saathi,' I can count a lot of his films," he added.

Bollywood's first superstar Rajesh Khanna is not keeping well. He was hospitalised on June 23 and is likely to be discharged in a day or two.

Anupam, who worked with Kaka (Rajesh Khanna's nick name) in 'Vijay', said, "Rajesh Khannaji is a part of our youth and belongs to the era that taught us about romance. He also portrayed different aspects of acting. He is the first superstar and I pray to god that he has a long and healthy life."

Anupam won Filmfare for the best supporting actor for his role in 'Vijay'.

Remembering his first meeting with the ailing superstar, he said, "I saw him for the first time when he was shooting for 'Kudrat' in Shimla. There are millions of his films I can talk about."